A Ponzi scheme involving cryptocurrency has reportedly resulted in four people being charged with fraud. The victims were allegedly defrauded of $44 million worth of bitcoin and other digital assets. There is no word on whether or not an arrest was made, but the investigation remains open
The “biggest ponzi scheme” is a fraud that has been going on for some time now. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has charged four operators with committing $44 million in crypto-ponzi fraud.
Four operators have been charged by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) with conducting a $44 million Bitcoin Ponzi scam.
According to the CFTC, the four defendants – Marquis Egerton of North Carolina, Jatin Patel of India, Gregory Aggesen of New York, and Dwayne Golden of Florida – illegally solicited the monies from investors.
Customers’ funds were misappropriated by the defendants.
Patel, Golden, and Egerton are accused of defrauding the Bitcoin community by collecting over $23 million via their websites Ecoinplus and Empowercoin. Aggesen, Patel, and Golden also managed JetCoin, which they utilized to defraud victims of over $21 million in Bitcoins, according to the lawsuit. All of the fake websites, according to the allegations, assured investors that their trades would be handled by specialists and that they would make daily profits. Investors were also promised astronomical returns on their money.
According to the lawsuit, customers’ Bitcoins were either used to make bogus profit transfers to others on the Ponzi scheme or stolen by the defendants.
Egerton, Patel, and Golden are accused of stealing $9.8 million in Bitcoin from the JetCoin website, as well as an extra $7.8 million in Bitcoin.
Vincent McGonaglem, the CFTC’s Acting Director of Enforcement, offered his thoughts on the matter. According to him, the current instance demonstrates how fraudsters are always developing new methods to take individuals from their hard-earned money, and digital asset crime is no exception.
The scale of fraud perpetrated in the business has prompted authorities to create a regulatory framework to combat these market problems. Permanent registration and trade prohibitions, civil monetary fines, disgorgement, and restitution are among the allegations.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is stepping up its efforts to combat forex and cryptocurrency fraud.
The CFTC has also issued a permanent injunction to prevent additional CFTC and Commodity Exchange Act breaches.
Individuals and investors in the foreign exchange, futures, and digital asset markets have also been targeted by the agency.
The W Trade Group LLC and its owners, Joseph Carvajales and Larry Ramos Mendoza, were accused by the SEC last month with fraud and misappropriation of over $19 million in forex, futures, and options. The watchdog’s webpages are also updated on a regular basis to give.
